2003 Regular Season, Round 5

At the MCG:

All over Melbourne last Friday, people were up and about at 4:30 AM. No, they weren't queuing at Docklands to ensure entry for the Blues/Kangaroos clash, due to start 39 hours later, but going to the ANZAC Day dawn service. Once again it was time for this traditional clash and there was a fairly traditional result - the Bombers won. Not only that, they won by a long way over a sluggish Magpie outfit. It wasn't supposed to be, the Maggies had a full week's rest coming in contrasting with the Bommers' five days, the Dons were still missing senior players while the Maggies were almost full strength. But things didn't go according to form. The Pies made one change in selection, recalling Mark McGough - hero of their victory in this fixture last year - at the expense of Rhyce Shaw. The Dons did regain Joe Misiti and Paul Barnard, but lost Mark Mercuri (sore knee) and were still missing Adam Ramanauskas, Dustin Fletcher and Sean Wellman. Last week's first-gamer Darren Walsh was dropped. It was Misiti's 200th game, by the way.

The conditions for the ANZAC game were very different from last year's rain-soaked slog, this year it was warm, sunny and stiller than the inside of Alexander Downer's head. And the 'G had a reduced capacity with the Ponsford Stand missing. Yet despite all 72,000 available tickets being sold, only 62,589 turned up. I'll never understand some people. The Pies started well enough with the first two goals, Jarrod Molloy converted a downfield free-kick against over-aggressive Barnard, then Paul Licuria roved a pack and snapped truly. Pies by 11 points at that stage. But things didn't go too well for them thereafter. Forward Chris Tarrant was given some stiff competition by Bommer Danny Jacobs while Anthony Rocca appeared to have taken some pre-match valium. Scott Lucas was on him. At the other end Matthew Lloyd and Damian Cupido gave the Pie backmen plenty of trouble. Playing out of a forward pocket, Cupido kicked two goals in the first quarter from a fast lead and mark and a close-in soccer effort respectively, and should've had another as he hauled down 5 grabs in the first term. Leading further afield, Lloyd took four marks in the opening stanza and had a crucial hand Cupido's second goal. Steven Alessio goaled from a mark and so did Lucas as the Dons found some form, James Hird very busy in the centre. Commentator Dermott Brereton proved more annoying than usual by constantly referring to Hird as 'playing like a quarterback' or more bafflingly, 'he just quarterbacked him'. There's no such position, Dermie. The second stanza belonged to Lloyd as he booted four of the six goals the Bombouts scored, leading quickly and marking strongly against battling Pie Simon Prestigiacomo. Hird snapped a terrific goal, following yet another idiotic deliberate-out-of-bounds decision against Prestigiacomo. The Dons kicked the first three goals of the second term and skipped out to a 31-point lead before the Pies fought back, with Buckley going well and Scott Burns coming to the fore - he'd started on the bench for some curious reason. The Maggies were also aided a little by the umps. Perhaps embarrassed by the 'deliberate' decision, they pinged Dean Solomon for holding-the-ball right in front of the Pie goal and Alan Didak converted the free. Jarrod Molloy had a tricky shot made easy by a 50m-penalty, Ryan Lonie dobbed a good running shot and the Pies drew within 18 points. But they conceded late goals to Cupido and Lloyd as he led, marked and converted again.

The Dons eased clear again in the early third term, with goals to Dean Rioli and Cupido, before the Magpies mounted their most serious challenge. Burns, Shane O'Bree and Mark McGough started to win around packs and send the ball forward, where the Pies found alternatives. Buckley thundered a great running goal, Jason Cloke goaled from a mark, O'Bree slotted a very good sausage from the flank. Rocca snapped a terrific major (his second kick) and after Josh Fraser soccer-scrambled a goal the Pies had closed to within 6 points. Once more the Dons responded late in the term (or the Magpies conceded late goals again, depending on your viewpoint). Cupido snapped his fifth goal with an excellent second-effort. Pie O'Bree cleared hurriedly from his defensive goalsquare, only to see the ball land with Hird, who thumped it back for a goal. Rioli slotted a running major and the Bombouts led by four goals again going into the final stanza. Now James Hird set about transforming a very good performance into something special. In the first minute of the final term, Hirdy swept upon a loose ball and kicked in the twinkling of an eye to score a goal. A few minutes later Hird snapped under pressure from James Clement and scored full points, and a few minutes after that repeated the dose. Essadun led by 43 points and the game was well-over, soon Hird was retiring for a rest and the Dons piled on the percentage, Lloyd soccering his sixth goal and Dean Solomon drifting down from defence for one.

James Hird won the ANZAC Medal for his 27 possessions (22 kicks), 5 marks and 5 goals. It's been a while since Hirdy booted a bag of goals. Along with Hird, the Pies were destroyed by Bummer forwards Matthew Lloyd (6 goals from 9 marks, 12 kicks) and lively Damian Cupido (5 goals from 8 marks, 12 kicks). Equally deserving of praise were the Bommer backmen, led by Scott Lucas (17 disposals, a goal) against Rocca. Danny Jacobs (7 marks, 17 disposals) forced Tarrant well away from goals to get the ball, while there was strong rebounding from Mark Bolton (14 disposals), Mark McVeigh (16 touches, 8 tackles) and Andrew Welsh (20 possies, 7 marks). Centreman Jason Johnson (28 touches) was fairly useful, along with Dean Rioli (16 touches, 3 goals). Dean Solomon kicked 2 goals. There were few better players on the ground than Pie skipper Nathan Buckley (37 disposals, a goal) - except Hird. Magpie rover Shane O'Bree (25 disposals, a goal) made his usual solid contribution, with support from Scott Burns (27 touches) and Mark McGough (24 possies). Another hard worker in Paul Licuria (27 handlings, 2 goals) was effective, but with all the midfield possession the Pies were let down by their disposal and their big men. Rocca managed one goal from his 3 kicks, Chris Tarrant took 7 marks and had 19 disposals, but none anywhere near the goals. And none of the backmen did much. Alan Didak and Jarrod Molloy managed 2 goals each. After railing against the Magpies' 'normal' loss last week, Mick Malthouse had to raise criticism to new level. "I can't really work out how you can get to within one goal and then drop away in the last quarter," Mick began. "I don't think it's the worst we've ever played, but it's certainly up there. This is comprehensively worse than last week...This week, we were beaten in a lot of positions, we were beaten badly." Kevin Sheedy enjoyed it. "From our point of view, today was a shot in the arm for the club. We've sort of been belted around the head by everybody in the last twelve months. It'll give the players a lot of confidence out of it, but I've seen it happen before. Your club gets up there for a couple of years and all of a sudden, people feel it's your time to move over and let someone else to come along. Well, we don't like to get carted away too quickly, so we'll have to work our backsides off to get back into that big top four."

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At the SCG:

A couple of years ago Fremantle got to play a home game on ANZAC Night, but now Sydney get the honour in a move apparently calculated to boost the Swannies in their home market and get up the noses of rugby league people, something Wayne Jackson has been very keen on this year for some odd reason. The Swans and Dees were competing for the Barrasi Cup. Anyway, the Swans tried very hard but didn’t show much skill until running all over the Demons - sorry, Insipid Demons as they're officially known now - in the last quarter. The Dees are the opposite of the Swans in many ways. Plenty of ability but fighting spirit of the Italian army. In selection here Paul Roos's threatened axe fell on Daniel McPherson, Scott Stevens and Luke Ablett. Coming into the Swan side were Daryn Creswell, Rohan Warfe and a first-gamer in 18-year-old ruckman James Meiklejohn, an NSW/ACT Ram who'd come off the rookie list. Warfe, recruited from Fitzroy, played his 100th game. The Demons also made three changes, axing regular midfielder Peter Walsh along with Guy Rigoni and last week’s debutant Nathan Carroll. In came defender Brad Miller, small forward Gary Moorcroft and midfielder Scott Thompson. Adem Yze was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident which saw Geelong's Will Slade KO'd behind play last week.

The Insipid Demons started in stereotypical fashion, with David Neitz plucking two strong grabs and converting both into goals. The Swans got on the board through a series of foot-passes ending with Nick Davis majoring. Soon Neitz was scooping the ball up from the turf, brushing off opponent Andrew Schauble and snapping a terrific third goal for himself and his team. Schauble soon became injured (back) and Roos made the curious decision to replace him with medium-build midfielder Craig Bolton. From the centre-bounce following Neitz's third, Swan Daryn Cresswell picked out Battlin' Barry Hall with a pass and Hall punted the gap down to 5 points at the first change. The Insipid Dees twice led by 12 points early in the second stanza with goals to Neitz, again, and Gary Moorcroft, sandwiching one for Swan Matty Nicks. The Swans started to improve though as some of the senior players targeted by Roos and the meedya last week began to make an effort. In particular Jason Ball, who was doing very well in attack. Swan captain Stuart Maxfield's long run and pass created a second goal for Davis, there was a fair spell of Siddey pressure which delivered little as the Swans over-used the ball or simply gave it away. At the other end Insipid Melbun's Russ Robertson missed an absolute sitter before Swan Ball marked at his CHF position and handballed for passing Adam Schneider to slot a goal and level the scores. A minute later a strong tackle by Ben Mathews led to a running goal for the very good Adam Goodes and the Swans had the lead at the long break.

Much of the good from that battle was undone in the third korter, which the Swans commenced without Maxfield for some reason, soon to be joined by Jason Ball (cramp). The Insipid Dees exploited the Swans' lack of height in defence by having ruckmen Jeff White and Darren Jolly rotate through the forward pocket, while the Bloods had no idea how to score at all. They moved the ball slowly with much handball before bombing it high into CHF where Hall and Mick O'Loughlin were swamped by Melbun defenders. The Dees' White marked and goaled early to level the scores, then Andrew Leoncelli delivered to Neitz on the lead, twice, and Neitz punted goals from both opportunities to have the Insipid Dees 12 points ahead. Maxfield returned for the Swans, just in time to see Jeff White pluck a big goal-square grab from Robertson's high kick and boot the Dees 18 points ahead. Next it was Jolly's turn, Chris Heffernan set up his goal-square mark and too-easy sausage. The quarter was almost over when the Swans scored for the first time in it, O'Loughlin snapping truly. Then the Bloods lost another player, Craig Bolton knocked out in a collision with Maxfield. Jason Saddington replaced poor Bolton as Neitz's opponent and Neitz marked almost immediately, but missed the shot. Still, anything other than a comfortable Demon victory seemed most unlikely at the final change.

But we were forgetting this was the Insipid Demons, the fade-out kings. Many Siddey players can take credit for their final-term charge, including the restored Jason Ball, but the Demons helped out by stopping to a walk, again. O'Loughlin created an early goal for Nick Davis, the Dees replied direct from the re-start with another mark and conversion from White. But the Swans' Adam Goodes/Paul Williams combination was to prove irresistible at the centre-bounce. Williams cleared the next restart and O'Loughlin, warming to the task, snapped a very good goal. A minute later the Dees coughed up possession and Hall passed to Ball for a major, cutting the Demons' lead to 7 points. The Dees appeared to steady when Jolly plucked a pack-mark in the goal-square and converted again, but the crowd were involved now and Siddey had their tails up. Hall missed consecutive set-shots but recovered the kick-in from the second and sent Schneider in for full points. Goodes and Williams won the subsequent centre-clearance, O'Loughlin held a good grab and scored the goal to put Siddey in front, by a point. Ball made it 7 points from a mark and Williams 13, scoring with a good kick after being picked out by Cresswell. Melbun's Scott Thompson burst away from the restart to kick a good running goal but it was one-way traffic thereafter. Nick Davis roved a ball-up and fired a handpass for a terrific Maxfield snap, Schneider sped along the wing and centered for Jude Bolton to mark and convert, finally Schneider booted another goal of his own to ice the cake. The locals enjoyed it very much.

A fit Jason Ball is a very handy player, in this one Ball took 10 marks, had 22 disposals and booted 2 goals to lead the Swans home. Ruckman Adam Goodes (18 disposals, a goal) was very good once again. Adam Schneider doesn't look like an athlete but is one of them 'natural footballer' types, he booted 3 goals from 13 touches while midfielders Stuart Maxfield (22 disposals, a goal), Brett Kirk (20 touches, 12 tackles) and Paul Williams (19 disposals, a goal) battled away. In attack Michael O'Loughlin and Nick Davis each finished with 3 goals, veteran Daryn Cresswell (26 disposals) wasn't bad in the centre. As per normal the Dees were all about David Neitz, he booted 6 goals from 7 marks and 15 disposals. In fact you couldn't blame the Demon forward-line, ruckman Jeff White kicked 3 goals from 9 marks and 17 touches, Darren Jolly bagged 2 goals. In the end, the Demons simply couldn’t get the ball down there often enough. Their higher possession-winners tended to play out of the backline, like Adem Yze (19 kicks) and Nathan Brown (17 disposals). In the centre Andrew Leoncelli (22 touches) wasn't bad. Travis Johnstone sums up the Dees, a highly-skilled but lazy sod who had 21 possessions but wasted a lot of 'em under pressure. In defence Clint Bizzell (14 disposals, 7 marks) played well as he and Brad Miller double-teamed Hall. Demon coach Neale Daniher was unhappy again. "That's two weeks in a row, now. We could have been four-and-one, but we haven't been able to play out the last two games." The reason's obvious. It's an odd-numbered year. Swan coach Paul Roos indulged in a little military metaphor. "I was a little surprised by the fightback. For a lot of them, it was above and beyond the call of duty tonight. A lot of them out there were just outstanding."

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At the MCG:

No wonder Schwabby has heart trouble. At least he's got a ticker though, unlike most of his players. The hopeless Hawks built a lead of 51 points, then watched the Tigers pile on fourteen unanswered goals to claim victory in this quite amazing contest at headquarters. Games like this one often involve Hawthorn. Hawk fans, always keen for a whinge, muttered darkly about a broken cheekbone for Peter 'Spider' Everitt which certainly didn't help them, while star-crossed Tiger Matthew Richardson suffered another hamstring injury. It was some sort of record comeback for Richmond, and the resultant 4-1 record at this stage of the season is as good as they could've hoped for - certainly better than most experts predicted. In (modest) defence of the Hawks, they're still struggling to put their best side on the ground and despite bringing ruckman/forward Nathan Thompson in for the first time this season, they lost full-back Jonathan Hay with split webbing in his hand. Form-less Simon Cox was dropped for returning Richie Vandenberg. Daniel Harford played his 150th game for the Horks. One change for Richmond, Justin Blumfield was out with a torn thigh muscle and replaced by small forward Andrew Krakouer.

Hawthorn toyed with the Tigers in a completely dominant opening quarter. Every time the ball hit the ground the Hawks swept it up, with on-ballers Sam Mitchell, Shane Crawford, Angelo Lekkas and Rayden Tallis racking up 37 disposals between them for the term. Ruckman Spider Everitt supplied the ball, Jade Rawlings was quite brilliant across CHF. Everitt's tap to Lekkas at a throw-in resulted in the first goal, then Everitt tapped to Mitchell at the centre-bounce, Rawlings marked and converted. Tallis slotted from the pocket, Harford free-kicked a sausage after being ridden into the ground by Matthew Rogers. A fumble from Tiger Andrew Kellaway led to an easy goal for Everitt and the Hawks led 5.2 to nothing. It was difficult to tell if the Tigers were playing well or not, they'd barely touched the ball at this point. Except to fumble it. Richmond's second foray into their attacking 50m, twenty minutes in, saw Matthew Richardson win a free-kick against smaller opponent Joel Smith. Richo missed. On came the Horkers, big man David Loats conjured an amazing snap from in front of the Members' Stand - the Hawks were going to the tricky Ponsford End - a series of handballs set up an easy major for Lekkas and the Hoks led by 44 points, 7.3 to 0.1. Somehow the Tiges managed a goal, half-back Mark Chaffey unleashing a bomb from 55m. The Hawks answered immediately, Kris Barlow roving to Everitt and snapping truly. Tigger captain Wayne Campbell kicked a very good goal to end the term for his shell-shocked team. A good pass from Rogers allowed Chaffey to boot the first goal of term two, but still it were all Horks. After a score-less spell, Everitt's tap at a throw-in allowed Tallis to boot his second goal, then Everitt lumbered onto a handpass from Crawford and snapped a superb sausage-roll. At the following centre-bounce the Tigers copped a break, literally, when ruckman Greg Stafford's elbow smashed Everitt’s cheek-bone. Looked like an accident, afterwards Schwabby blamed the appalling bouncing of umpire Derek Humphrey-Smith. Whatever the case it was the end of the day for Everitt, who'd been playing very well. No immediate effect on the Hawks, after Richardson held a good mark and goaled for Richmond, Horforn's Nathan Thompson converted from a free-kick, then a series of sharp handpasses allowed Ben Dixon to snap truly. The Hawkers led by the aforementioned 51 points at this stage, 12.6 to 4.3. Now the Tiges gave a fore-taste of the second half with four goals in the last 5 minutes of the korter. Mark Coughlan roved and snapped a goal, Stafford bagged one from a throw-in, then Richardson emerged. He clutched two big grabs across half-forward and dished off handpasses for goals to Coughlan and Campbell, respectively, and the Tiges trailed by 27 points at the long break.

The third term was like a mirror-image of the first as the Tiges piled on the goals. With Ray Hall shifted into the ruck, Coughlan and Kane Johnson started to win the contested ball. Stafford went to full-forward and booted the first two goals of the term, the first set up by a good handpass from Andrew Krakouer, the second a debatable free-kick against Hawk defender Nick Stone. Krakouer roved a throw-in and snapped a major, the Hawks' lead had been whittled down to 9 points. Coughlan charged clear from the re-start and blasted a running sausage, Hawks by 3. The game was unusually tight for a period as the Hawks fought to maintain the literal and psychological advantage. A terrible turnover by their Lance Picioane wasted a scoring chance and the inevitable arrived, Wayne Campbell marked a wobbly kick from Tim Fleming and gave a handpass for Leon Cameron to thump the go-ahead goal. And it didn't stop there. Superb roving and a burst of speed from David Rodan (or 'D-Rod' as Kevin Bartlett referred to him) saw another Tiger goal, from the next centre-bounce Kane Johnson found Richardson on the lead, Richo converted. Unfortunately for the Tiges, Richardson injured his right hamstring and departed shortly afterwards. Still, when the quarter ended the Tigers led by 15 points and had scored eleven consecutive goals. On it went. Andrew Krakouer roved to Stafford and snapped the first goal of the final stanza. The Hawks finally found something and had a crack, Lekkas postered and Harford missed a shot. From the kick-in Krakouer gathered and delivered to Richo's replacement, Adam Houlihan. He goaled. A 55m thump from Kane Johnson resulted in Richmun's fourteenth consecutive goal and they led by 31 points. The Tigers, having played on the preceding Monday, began to tire dramatically at this point and decided to defend their lead. The Hawks finally managed some goals, from Thompson and Mark Graham, set up by Crawford. All too late and the siren heralded a memorable Tiger victory.

The turn-about came when the Tigers started to win the ball-in-dispute, and none was better at that than Mark Coughlan who finished with 19 disposals and 3 goals. Fellow blonde Kane Johnson was excellent with 30 disposals and a goal, he's been a handy recruit. Ray Hall (13 disposals) did very well in the ruck - Everitt's departure helped - while Greg Stafford became a handy forward with 3 goals from 16 handlings. Wayne Campbell (29 disposals, 2 goals) played a very solid game while defenders Mark Chaffey (16 touches, 2 goals) and Chris Newman (14 disposals) played well throughout. Matthew Richardson collected 8 marks, kicked 2 goals and had a hand in a couple of others before departing, Andrew Krakouer snaggled 2 goals. Very difficult to find four-quarter players for the Hawks, although Shane Crawford (27 disposals) started brilliantly and never stopped trying, along with Angelo Lekkas (26 disposals, 2 goals). They had some good forwards when they could get the ball up there, Jade Rawlings took 10 marks (5 in the first quarter), had 18 touches and kicked a goal, Kris Barlow (9 kicks, 5 marks, a goal) always looked dangerous. Spider Everitt's tap-work was great and he bagged 2 goals before injured, Nathan Thompson made a promising comeback with 6 marks and 2 goals, even if he still can't kick very well. Rayden Tallis kicked 2 goals, he had 11 of his 16 possessions in the first quarter. It was a bloodless performance from the Hawks, who play a very un-accountable, keepings-off style of game and are always vulnerable when it becomes a physical contest. Peter Schwab will have plenty of critics again. "It was a terrible end result after such a promising start. To work ourselves into the position that we did so early in the game and to then surrender that lead and get beat in the manner which we did was pretty ordinary," he said. Indeed. Tiger coach Danny Frawley said "We snatched a couple of goals and just kept chipping away, and we talked about all the little things that are important for us to get involved in, in games of football. Nothing flash, we just really did what we needed to support each other."

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At Football Park:

Port maintained a clear superiority over their local rival with a sixth consecutive victory in the Showdowns. This was Showdown - er- XIII and it was a typically tough, low-scoring affair with Port's Chad Cornes emerging as the game's key figure for his ability to kick vital goals. At the other end Wayne Carey appeared to have taken some of Anthony Rocca's Anzac Day valium, he was comprehensively beaten by Darryl Wakelin. In selection the Camrys made two changes, recalling Ian Perrie and Martin Mattner at the expense of Ben Marsh and Brent Reilly. The Powder welcomed back forward Warren Tredrea and half-back Michael Wilson following a lengthy absence with his second knee reconstruction. However they lost defender Brett Montgomery with an ankle injury, while youngster Steven Salopek was dropped. Still no Primus.

A Football Park record crowd of 51,140 were in attendance on a mild autumn night. As per most Showdowns the game was a rugged affair with a dozen players crowded 'round the ball and every possession a contest. There were subplots - would Port 'square up' with Camry Mark Bickley, who KO'd Port full-back Darryl Wakelin last time? Would Wayne Carey explode? Would Mark Ricciuto dong people? No, no and yes were the answers. From the start Ricciuto clattered into Port men, but Port made the better footballing start. One of Ricciuto's early targets, Roger James, gathered 14 touches in the first quarter as Port kicked the first three goals, two for in-form Shaun Burgoyne and the other for James. The Pooer controlled the midfield early and the Camrys' forwards, Carey and Mark Stevens, were well-beaten by Wakelin and Stephen Paxman, respectively. Ricciuto was dragged to cool down and his replacement, Ronnie Burns, scored the Corollas' first goal with a long shot which bounced home. Peter Burgoyne replied for the Power, direct from the restart, and the Flowers led by 17 points. The Camrys soon had another goal, Carey marked on an acute angle and his kick across the face of goal was well-marked by Ken McGregor, he majored. Port had the answer again when Warren Tredrea led, marked and converted to complete the first-term scoring. The Camrys improved in the second term, Jason Torney quietened James and their midfielders, in particular Matthew Bode and Mark Bickley, started to win the ball. But in a familiar scenario the Cressidas lacked the forwards to complete their work. Following a couple of long-distance misses, the Cows had to rely on free-kicks to small men Burns and Chris Ladhams for goals. They trailed by 4 points when Port managed a goal with their first attack of the stanza, Jarrad Schofield picking out Peter Burgoyne. Within a minute some good play from Chad Cornes and few handballs resulted in Kane Cornes majoring and Port were three goals in front again. The Camrys pressed on and scored a lot more behinds, including a ridiculous torpedo attempt from Burns, an Ian Perrie poster and a Ladhams miss, until Ronnie Burns pounced on a loose ball and snapped truly just before the long break.

Into term three and nothing happened for a long time as an enlarged scrum of players wrestled with the ball and each other. Fourteen minutes elapsed before a Camry turnover allowed Port's Josh Carr to find some space for a run, he kicked for Chad Cornes to mark and convert, the Power led by 12 points. Then a noteworthy incident as Camry backman Nathan Bassett was KO'd in a collision with Port's Shaun Burgoyne. Bassett was head-down, pursuing the ball and just happened to look up at the wrong time, to cop Burgoyne's shoulder right in the face. The game was held up for seven minutes while Bassett was stretchered off. When it resumed Port scored a couple of behinds before Shaun Burgoyne passed to leading brother Peter, he converted and Port led by 20 points. The Camrys scored a late goal when some good team play ended with Tyson Edwards sausaging, but they appeared to have the greater task going into the final stanza. It became a bit more difficult early in that last term when Chad Cornes grabbed a throw-in and snapped a terrific goal. When Bickley coughed up the ball, leading to free-kick goal for Shaun Burgoyne, the Flowers led by 26 points and it looked over. To their credit, the Camrys boxed on. After a poor miss from their Rhett Biglands, Edwards kicked a goal, then Ricciuto fired a handpass from a pack and Bickley snapped a good one. Graham Johncock came up with another major and the Camrys had narrowed the margin to 7 points. But Chad Cornes emerged to seal it, taking a terrific pack-mark of Tredrea’s high kick and punting truly.

In a low-scoring game the Port defenders take much credit, Darryl Wakelin (8 marks, 9 kicks) saw Carey benched with admirable support from Gavin Wanganeen (18 disposals) and Stuart Cochrane (11 touches). Port had the forwards too, Chad Cornes kicked 3 goals from 11 marks and 20 disposals, Peter Burgoyne bagged 3 goals from his 20 touches and Shaun Burgoyne also kicked 3 goals from his 7 possies. Kane Cornes (10 disposals, a goal) did a good stopping job on Andrew McLeod, while ruckman Dean Brogan (8 marks, 14 disposals) eventually overcame Clarke. In the midfield Josh Carr (20 disposals) was probably Port's main contributor, with handy efforts from Roger James (25 touches, a goal) and Jarrad Schofield (24 handlings). The Camrys' best players were also in the midfield, led by ex-Port rover Matthew Bode (24 possessions) and Mark Bickley (20 touches, a goal). Graham 'Stiffy' Johncock, playing on a half-forward flank this time, was good with 20 touches and a goal while reliables Ben Hart (14 disposals) and Simon Goodwin (25 handlings) were serviceable. Tyson Stenglein (12 touches) did a decent tagging job on Nick Stevens. But the only effective Camry forward was Ronnie Burns, who bagged 3 goals from 12 touches. Tyson Edwards scored 2 goals from his 21 disposals, with 14 handpasses. "It's extremely disappointing to lose (the Showdown) again," began Ayres. "But having said that, as a coach you've obviously got to try to dissect the game pretty quickly and she was a pretty torrid affair when you talk about what was on the line and what it meant to both sides. But they (Port) were superior on the night with their decision-making and their skills." Mark Williams was in his favourite mode. "I was really proud of the players tonight. With so many players out, to still fight on and get over the line against really tough opposition was great. There were some outstanding efforts, none greater than Gavin Wanganeen who hurt his back in the warm-up before the start and there was every chance we were going to pull him out..." He'll be exposed next week...

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At Docklands:

North promoted this game heavily, desperate to fill their perennially-empty coffers. They talked up some unlikely animosity between Denis Pagan and their new coach Dean Laidley, and there's no doubt Roo fans would have enjoyed the Blues' summer financial disaster and experienced much schadenfreude at Pagan's situation, after he cited the Kangas' lack of cash as a reason for leaving. But Roo fans wouldn't have enjoyed seeing their team out-muscled by the Blues and led to victory by 8 goals from the re-born Brendan Fevola. In selection the Kangarse were able to call up Glenn Archer for the first time this season, after he broke a hand in the pre-season. Daniel Motlop also returned and ruckman David Hale was selected. Out went Sav Rocca with 'flu, while Ben Robbins and youngster Daniel Wells were axed. The Bluebaggers lost Mick Martyn with 'general soreness' and dropped unsettled ruckman Matthew Allan, who came in as a replacement for Corey McKernan last week. McKernan was in this time, along with Ian Prendergast.

At least North had some success on the night with 39,000 people turning up, a reasonable crowd. In keeping with the atmosphere it was tough, somewhat spiteful and relentless contest in which both sides battled to the very end. Venerable Roo warrior David King free-kicked the first goal and Roo Brent Harvey booted the second major after Bloo Anthony Koutoufides obligingly tapped the ball to him. The Blues were on the board after King's opponent Justin Murphy thumped a long goal on the run. But Norf confirmed their early superiority with another goal for Harvey, decapitated by Murphy, and they led by 12 points. Soon the Blues were doing some attacking but missing some shots, a poor effort from Brendan Fevola and two bad misses from Adrian Hickmott. Hickmott was opposed by Archer and there was plenty of off-the-ball action between the two. Fevola scored full points with a 55m roost, before some good play by Harvey and King created a goal for Roo Leigh Harding. Late in the term Fevola bagged his second goal to leave the Ruse a narrow 2 points up at the first change. The second term was a bit of a slog, early on the Bluesers grabbed the lead with Fevola's third goal, a thumping kick set up by Andrew McKay's handpass. Soon the Kangas were in front again, Leigh Brown's tough effort sending the busy Shannon Grant in for the goal. There followed very little in the way of scoring action for some time, until the last few minutes of the half. Norf skipper Anthony Stevens marked 50m out and was clattered by Jarrad Waite, the resulting penalty gave Stevens an easy goal and the Ruse led by 8 points. The Blues responded from an identical incident, Luke Livingston with the mark and goal, Leigh Colbert the 50m penalty-conceder. Right on half-time a very good spoil and pass from Matthew Lappin led to a goal for Fevola and the Bloos had grabbed the lead.

As the third term commenced I thought the screen said one of the umpire's names was Magett. Turns out it's actually Margett. Close enough for me. After Norf players missed a couple of early chances Carlton extended their lead. Fevola majored again from a free-kick, shoved out by Shannon Watt, then youngster Brad Fisher marked Murphy's long kick and converted. Anthony Stevens charged clear of the next centre-bounce but his shot missed, before Fevola kicked another goal roving the goal-square pack. Carlton led by 19 points at this stage and Fevola had six of their nine goals. He was the difference, Norf were struggling up forward. Corey McKernan postered and Fisher kneed it through - a point - before North caught up. Brent Harvey marked a Bloo kick-in and received a 50m penalty for late contact, he goaled. Shannon Motlop launched a wayward long shot, it bounced straight up allowing Harvey to tap-back, Daniel Motlop goaled. Danny Motlop goaled again to cut the Blue lead to 2 points, before the Bluies move clear once more. Adrian Hickmott and Glenn Archer had niggled all game, unfortunately for Archer he was caught retaliating and Hickmott free-kicked a goal. Then Darren Hulme found Ryan Houlihan on the lead, Houlihan punted the Blues into a 14-point lead. Goals were now arriving more regularly than a Donald Rumsfeld press conference, Norf's Harding bagged one before a terrific Fevola snap restored Carlton's two-goal lead going into the final quarter. Plenty more majors in the final term and North will rue (Roo?) the 6.7 they kicked. Two of them misses came early before two Blue goals, Houlihan's terrific boundary-line slot and McKernan's big grab and conversion, had North staring at a 24-point deficit. But they responded rapidly with the next two majors direct from the centre-bounce, to Leigh Harding and Shannon Grant. Next up Hickmott majored from another free-kick against the hapless Archer but Norf, inspired in the midfield by Troy Makepeace and Stevens, weren't going quietly. Bloo McKay turned over possession and Corey Jones had an easy goal, more misses followed including a Harding poster before Grant majored to have the Ruse trailing by 5 points. The umpires timed a deliberate out-of-bounds decision perfectly but Grant ignored the script by missing the shot. Carlton stood up, Houlihan free-kicked a steadying major after David King was done for throwing. Hickmott snapped a good one, without official aid, before Fevola booted the sealer. He won a pretty soft free-kick against Watt, then banana-ed the ball through from the tightest of angles. The Blooze led by 22 points now and were home. North kept pressing, but more misses (before goals to Harding and Makepeace) summed up their night.

In a game where the midfields were evenly-matched, it was the Bluies' ability to kick goals that mattered and Brendan Fevola kicked 8 of 'em, from 4 marks, 11 kicks and a fair slice of fortune. Missed two shots, one a poster. As one of the commentators observed, he's arrived - again. Battling veteran Adrian Hickmott (23 disposals, 3 goals) made Archer's comeback forgettable while Ryan Houlihan (14 touches, 3 goals) played well again. Ruckman Barnaby French (13 touches) was an important influence while Scott Camporeale (23 disposals) and Justin Murphy (23 possessions, a goal) were important midfielders. The Blue defence was excellent in silencing big Roo forwards Morrell and Petrie, led by Andrew McKay (6 marks, 17 disposals) with assistance from Bret Thornton and Ian Prendergast. North's best were their ferocious runners in Shannon Grant (31 disposals, 2 goals), Brent Harvey (23 disposals, 3 goals), Anthony Stevens (32 possessions, a goal) and Adam Simpson (25 touches). Running backman Troy Makepeace, switched to the centre late in the game, collected 27 disposals and kicked a goal while half-back flank Jess Sinclair (25 disposals) continued his fine form. But they didn't have a winning tall man on the ground, their best forward was goal-sneak Leigh Harding who bagged 4 majors from 6 kicks. Daniel Motlop kicked 2 goals. Dean Laidley said "A few little areas cost us, not to take a mark with any of our tall forwards cost us. I thought some indiscretions giving away fifty-metre penalties or down-the-ground free kicks cost us a couple of goals." A rather smug Denis Pagan said "We wasted some opportunities early in the piece. We missed early goals, but we kept fighting the whole way through."

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At the Gabba:

The game was played at what Inside Football magazine calls 'The Gabbatoir' but the Lisbon Brians barely got out of second gear in dismissing the game but undermanned Bulldogs. Interesting article in the paper yesterday discussing Terry Wallace's legacy at Footscray, how he drafted a series of lithe running players at the expense of tough ball-winners or taller key-position players. Wallace responded by pointing out the club delisted or traded four big blokes in Trent Bartlett, Luke Penny, Kingsley Hunter and Nathan Saunders after he (Wallace) left. Touche. Nothing to do with this game but more interesting than anything in it, apart from one brief stage when the Brians had nineteen men on the field. The Brisbane team, well-rested with nine days since their previous encounter, had one change with Alastair Lynch 'rested' again, he was replaced by Daniel Bradshaw. The Bullies had to replace the unfortunate Mark Alvey, out for the season with a knee reconstruction, and Matthew Robbins who injured his neck last week. On the plus side experienced Ben Harrison returned from injury, as did Lindsay Gilbee.

The Lions won the first two centre-clearances, Daniel Bradshaw marked twice and kicked two goals and that was it, really. Their officially exciting youngster Jared Brennan fired the crowd with two first-quarter goals, from a mark and a soccer-kick after he won a foot-race with some hapless Bulldog. Matthews immediately benched the kid to keep his feet on the ground. That was a bit difficult for most as continual drizzle made the Gabba surface quite slippery, coupled with the warm weather it made for very humid conditions. Brisbun led by 33 points after skipper Michael Voss roved the pack to boot a goal, but the Dogs came back with two late goals from Patrick Bowden and Paul Dimattina. That was pretty much the pattern, Brisbun lairized around and displayed a fair amount of arrogance, the Pups tried hard and occasionally got within three goals or so, before the Lyin's accelerated away again. One Lion who did try hard was Ashley McGrath, he was given the job on Bulldog forward Nathan Brown and did very well - Matthews realising speed rather than strength or height is the key to stopping Brown. Midway through the second term Brown hadn't touched the ball and responded by elbowing McGrath in the face, conceding a free-kick and 50m penalty. The Bulldogs kicked three of the last four goals of the second quarter, two from Patrick Bowden who was doing a passable impression of a centre half-forward. They went in 21 points down, a fair effort. Matthews no doubt reminded the lads they were supposed to be playing, and they came out in a more serious mood for the third term, but slightly cruelled their chances of a percentage-booster by kicking 3.5. The Pups drew within 21 points again in the final stanza, with consecutive goals from Simon Garlick, Ryan Hargrave and Scott West. West showed some football smarts in winning a free-kick against Chris Johnson. But they were finally killed off by two more goals from Bradshaw, who ended up with six. As the commentators never tired of telling us, Bradshaw can't get a game in the full-strength Lion side.

Brisbane did well midfield where Nigel Lappin (27 disposals, a goal) and Michael Voss (28 disposals, a goal) were the leaders. More importantly they did very well defensively, where Ashley McGrath (12 possies) kept Brown goal-less, Brown was eventually shifted into the midfield. Nominal full-back Mal Michael was very good with 8 marks and 13 disposals. Daniel Bradshaw booted 6 goals from 7 marks and 11 kicks against the hapless Matthew Croft. Other Lions to perform well included Jason Akermanis (11 marks, 19 kicks, 2 goals) and Luke Power (19 touches, a goal). Jared Brennan finished with 2 goals. The Bulldogs' team-leaders all performed well, Rohan Smith attacked off half-back for 27 possessions, rover Scott West collected 36 possessions and kicked a goal, wingman Brad Johnson had 34 disposals and kicked a goal. Patrick Bowden (7 marks, 17 disposals, 3 goals) continues to show promise as a forward while frowning Simon Garlick (24 disposals, 3 goals) played well. After spending nearly the entire game on the bench, Ryan Hargrave had 11 disposals and kicked 2 goals in the last quarter. Peter Rohde blamed skill-errors. "It was a bit of comedy capers there at one stage, but I think more to do with decision-making than skills. I thought once we were within twenty points, if we got another goal then it was game on. Probably the whole day we never managed to do that." Leigh Matthews said "It wasn't a vintage performance, but we won by twelve scoring shots so I guess we shouldn't be too precious. I think they (Bulldogs) run pretty well and it was a game that was going to test everybody because the humidity was quite severe, and the Bulldogs certainly run, so it kept the game going."

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At Subiaco:

Fremantle do not have a great record in Western Derbys and have never won the first of the two games played each season, a record they kept intact here. The Weagles had a better forward-line structure and won the crucial match-ups to run out comfortable winners. And get 'bragging rights'. What are they? If your team loses, you can't say anything? If (Richo forbid) Carlton didn't lose a game for the next five years I'd still never hesitate to pile abuse upon them. But I digress. Freo went in unchanged from the side that beat North, while the Eagles welcomed back famous Derby combatant Philip Read, who's missed the last two seasons with knee reconstructions. However defender David Wirrpunda missed with a hamstring strain. Kasey Green returned and big man Paul Johnson was given his AFL debut, he's from the Dandenong Stingrays. Darren Glass and Josh Wooden were dropped.

West Coast started well, with some good match-ups. Daniel Chick tagged Matthew Pavlich, who's killed the Eags in the past, while Andrew Embley took on Des Headland. Both Eagle men emerged victorious. Their midfielders Chris Judd and Chad Fletcher ran amok in the first term and scored a few goals as the Eegs cruised clear, the Dokkas couldn't get the ball (apart from Peter Bell) and had a non-functioning forward-line. Chris Lewis lookalike Ashley Sampi was a handy Weegle forward and team-mate Phil Read enjoyed bagging a goal before half-time. Freo came out fired for a big third term, aided by a big lift from rovers Troy Cook and Paul Hasleby. Goals from Paul Medhurst, Cook and Clive Waterhouse narrowed the gap, although that same trio also missed some relatively easy chances. Hasleby converted a free-kick late in the term that narrowed the Wiggles' lead to 9 points but they responded quickly, Sampi and Phil Matera score goals in rapid succession and the Eegs led comfortably at the final change. The Dokkas kept boxing on in the final stanza, but were finally killed off by a mark and goal from the lumbering Glen Jakovich, well-found by Embley, and a gift to Phil Matera from Dokka defender Haddrill.

Eagle Andrew Embley has settled down this season to become a very handy player, he had 24 disposals, took 9 marks and kicked a goal in thrashing Des Headland. Forward Ashley Sampi was a flashy lurker with 4 goals from 12 touches, 3 marks while midfielders Chad Fletcher (27 disposals, 3 goals) and Chris Judd (20 touches, a goal) played well. Ruckman Michael Gardiner (13 kicks) was the game's dominant big man while rover Ben Cousins (27 touches) overcame Matthew Carr’s gritty tag. Daniel Chick (16 disposals, 8 tackles) had the better of Pavlich. Phil Matera and David Haynes kicked 2 goals each. Freos' better players were mostly defenders, like Dion Woods (16 disposals), Robert Hayden (12 touches) on Phil Matera and young tall man Graham Polak. As per usual rover Peter Bell (28 touches) had plenty of the ball and Troy Cook (19 disposals, 2 goals) inspired their best spell. They struggled up forward though, Clive Waterhouse took 8 marks but kicked 2.3 and an out-on-the-full, Trent Croad one mark for one goal, Justin Longmuir three marks and no goals. Paul Medhurst bagged 2 goals from 18 touches. Only a very brief quote from Chris Connolly. "We did not perform when the pressure was on." Okay then. John Worsfold said "Ashley Sampi is one who will certainly thrive in big matches as they come around. He has certainly got the class and some areas to work on, but for a kid who has only played a handful of games, he is showing a lot."

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At Docklands:

Both clubs had pencilled this one in as a win, so it was a fairly fiery contest which followed a worryingly familiar pattern for Cat supporters - three close quarters, then a decisive last quarter. And for the fourth time in five, the Catters folded in the final stanza. That's taking some credit from the Saints though, their supporters should be excited by some of the very talented young players they've accumulated through years of being rubbish. It's the system. In selection the Cats made no alteration to the team which recorded their first victory of the season last week, while the Saints had just one change. Heath 'Mr. Angry' Black was recalled at the expense of Justin Peckett.

It rained outside so the roof was closed. It rained goals inside. Geelong bounced out with three of the first four, skilful midfielder James Kelly booted two of 'em. The Saints got moving as Aryan ace Nick Riewoldt took a couple of big grabs in the goalsquare and Stephen Milne booted a goal, he already appeared too nimble for Cat opponent Brenton Sanderson. Late goals to Peter Riccardi and a dribbler from Gary Ablett had the Cats ahead at the first break. The game settled down in the second term, the Saints began to take charge as once again Geelong couldn't take a mark in attack. A clearly half-fit Cameron Mooney couldn't get near the ball while Kent Kingsley was having one of them quiet days again. But the Stains didn't kick straight again. Frustration boiled over, Stephen Milne was reported for biffing Cat full-back Matthew Scarlett and Cat Cameron Ling was booked for punching Riewoldt. A brawl erupted before half-time and the third Mario saw some football action. Stakilda threatened to take control as Fraser Gehrig tormented the hapless Ben Graham, booting a couple of goals. Graham was benched at three-quarter-time, for the remainder of the game. He wasn't injured. Saint Xavier Clarke put in a couple of contenders for Mark of the Year. The Cats fought back late, a Saint turnover gifted Corey Enright a goal, Kingsley came to life and kicked a goal and the Cats trailed by 7 points at the final change. They trailed by a point after Steven King booted the first goal of the final term, reeling in a one-handed mark. Geelong didn't score again. Xavier Clarke injured himself taking another spectacular grab before experienced hard-man Steven Lawrence set the ball rolling for the Saints, good work from Brendon Goddard saw Lawrence marking and converting. Hamill kicked the next goal, also from a mark, then some exemplary roving from Luke Ball sent Lawrence in for another goal. Roles were reversed a moment later as some tenacious work from Lawrence created a major for Ball. As the Saints surged clear Milne joined the party, with the next two goals - Lawrence supplied the pass for the second. Events were completed as renowned Cat dummy-spitter Darren Milburn conceded a free-kick, 50m penalty and goal to Andrew Thompson.

The talents of young Saint rover Luke Ball are impressing many, in his fifth game of footy Ball had 27 disposals and kicked 2 goals. The slightly more experienced Lenny Hayes (30 dispsoals) was also very good, with the even older Aussi Jones (23 handlings) providing great drive off his half-back flank. Unlike the Cats, the Saints had reliable targets up forward in Nick Riewoldt (9 marks, 21 disposals, 2 goals) and Fraser Gehrig (7 marks, 12 possies, 3 goals). Everything done by Xavier Clarke (15 disposals, 4 marks) is spectacular, while there were the usual solid performances from Aaron Hamill (11 touches, 2 goals) and Stephen Milne (4 goals from 9 kicks). Steven Lawrence had 8 of his 11 touches and 4 of his 6 marks in the last quarter, and kicked 2 goals. Andrew Thompson kicked 2 goals, too. Geelong's better players were their running midfielders again in James Kelly (26 disposals, 2 goals), Corey Enright (23 touches, a goal) and Cameron Ling (20 disposals). Steven King was one of the few senior players to stand up, with 19 disposals, a goal and a handsome victory in the ruck. Defender Jarad Rooke (12 touches) played quite well. Peter Riccardi kicked 2 goals, but he's one of a number of supposed Geelong team leaders under much pressure, along with Graham, Sanderson and Milburn. Of these blokes, Bomber Thompson said "I've got to persevere with them because there's no-one else. We just need them playing well and how I do that is the art of coaching. It's my job. The loss today was bad, round one was worse, but it's been pretty tough all round. I don't have that many goals or aspirations to make the eight or do anything special, I just want us to play the best footy we can play, we've got a big game against Brisbane next week and another one backing up over in Perth against West Coast, I'd like to win another one soon." Good luck. Grant Thomas said "Our perseverance to keep on and win was great, and we need to carry that momentum over to next week against the Bulldogs." With the battling Dogs and Blues to come, the Saints reckon they can set up a good season over the next fortnight.

Cheers,

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